0454 | Mark for Everyone | Tom Wright

byJohnonJune 5, 2014

Tom Wright has done it again with an extremely readable and very accessible translation and commentary on the Gospel according to Mark.

I’m reading my way through the entire set of New Testament commentaries that Wright has produced. Having already finished the two-volume Matthew for Everyone, I made my way to Mark expecting more of the same excellent quality. And I was not to be disappointed.

Wright has such a subtle style. He’s a theological heavyweight professor at St Andrews University in Scotland, but you wouldn’t know it as he writes. Well, that’s not entirely true. You do get a very clear sense that this is a guy who knows exactly what he’s talking about. He knows his New Testament history, the culture and ideas of the time. His authority

permeates every page as he takes you through the meaning of each verse.

And it’s this detailed clarity which is the strength of this book and, I’m beginning to think, the entire series. This careful, measured, scholarly approach to Scripture is something we really lack in the church these days.

Wright shows us why each passage needs to be interpreted based on the panoply of Scripture as a whole and insights into the socio-historical context in which it was written. Yet at the same time, Wright manages to make each passage relevant to our 21st century lives and illustrates how we can apply the truths we learn about with every reading.

Highly recommended.

OPENING LINE

You are sound asleep and dreaming, when suddenly the door bursts open and a bright light shines full in your face.

CLOSING LINE

This might reveal the ending. If you want to see the quote, click show

And how, in particular, would we apply today the very interesting instruction, in verse 15, to take the gospel not just to every creature but to the entire creation?